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RFISD estimates about $660,000 to meet Senate Bill 546 bus seat‑belt requirements; board will record findings
Summary
District transportation staff told the board that retrofitting buses to meet Senate Bill 546 three‑point seat‑belt standards would cost roughly $660,000; the district is documenting the survey results and discussed filing a public meeting record noting inability to afford the full retrofit by the statutory process.
Sean Fletcher, presenting the district’s survey on Senate Bill 546, told trustees that Rockport‑Fulton ISD has 12 buses already meeting the new three‑point seat‑belt standards and 17 buses that do not. Of those 17, Fletcher said 12 can be retrofitted while 4 or 5 would require a complete refit that includes removing seats and other work.
Fletcher gave the district’s preliminary cost estimate: “So total for us, it would be about 660,000.” He told the board the statutory compliance date is Sept. 1, 2029, and that the first step is gathering and documenting data about local cost and feasibility. Trustees discussed whether aging buses slated for retirement might reduce retrofit needs; Fletcher said some of the buses requiring major renovation are close to retirement but did not give exact replacement dates.
Board members asked whether the state would supply funding. Fletcher said districts do not yet have a confirmed funding source and that the first step was to record the district survey as a public meeting item; the board agreed the presentation served to document the district’s findings for the statutory record rather than to commit to a resolution or appropriation at this meeting.
